Adjustable garment hanger



1954 .,N. c. WELKER ADJUSTABLE GARMENT HANGER Filed March 17, 1952 NELE C- WELK ER INVENTOR.

Patented Jan. 19 1954 .spms'mmm GARMENT HANGER 1 :Nels G. Walker, PortIand OIeg.

ApplicationMal-chfl, 1952, SeriaIINQIZIQflSV e oia ms.

invention relates toi-mproveme'nts in adjustable garment hangers sof the types'hownjand described in my co-f-pending application, Serial nofiieas'io, iiiedi septemb r v, "1950.

;As therein .pointedoutQitis .one-of .theJJrinciDal objects of :the inventiQn-Lto provide a'hanger of 'this character preferably made of molded material and wherein means are provided for adjusting'thehanger to accommodate various sizes of garments.

It is oneof the .principal objects of the present invention "to provide 'ahangerof "this character which -is also formed of 'molded material but -of inuch greater efficiency .andeof :less cost of aproiiucti'on.

i =iurther -obj ectis .the.provision ofJisi-mplified means formed in the body of the hanger and cooperating means formed in the adjustable elements of the hanger for positioning said adjustable elements more securely and more positively in their adjusted positions.

A further object is the provision of simplified means for stabilizing said adjustable elements in any of their adjusted positions with respect to the body of the hanger. I

A still further object is the provision of means removably secured to the outer ends of said adjustable elements and slidably engaged with the arms of the body of the hanger to provide an elongated and smoothly rounded surface in conformity with the shoulder portions of a garment of any size Within the operative range of said adjustable elements.

These and other objects will appear as my invention is more fully hereinafter described in the following specification, illustrated in the accompanyin drawing, and finally pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a garment hanger made in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of Figure 1 with fragments broken away for convenience of illustration.

Figure 3 is an enlarged bottom plan view of the left hand side of Figure 1 with a part removed.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevation of the left hand side of Figure 1 in an extended position.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing:

As shown in Figures 1 and 2 the main body of the hanger, generally indicated at I, may be molded in its entirety as a single unit or made 2 up of two molded sections joined together as at 2, and provided with any approved type of suspending hook 2A. 'Inasrnuch as both sides of the hanger are identical a-- descri'ption of one side will sufiice for both.

The underside of "thebodypf the hanger is .formed with an i-nv erted channel 3 throug l out its length. The side' walls ofthe clian nel are formed with rounded-opposing cavitiesfi and i1 respectively at spaced-apart intervals. Secured Within the channel at i I block's to which maybesecnred'ina-ny approved marinena cross bar(not shown) ortheglilre for vsuspendingtrousers, rloth garments froin 'the ns r- .This f fi tlll cpnstitlitesJ anartgfih ginvention.

o te nd l Slidably mounted'within each channel is an extension arm 9 terminating at its outermost end in a downwardly extending portion l0 rounded at its upper end as at H. The inner end of the extension arm 9 is bifurcated to form a. pair of spring fingers I2 between which I provide a compression leaf spring l3 for normally maintaining the spring lingers l2 spread in an open position. Near the end of each spring finger I provide aligned rounded projections l4 for selective engagement with any of the spaced-apart cavities ii and 1 within the channel 3 under the spreading influence of the spring l3 as Well as the spring fingers themselves. Thus, it will be seen that regardless of the setting of the extension arm with respect to the body of the hanger the extension arm will be firmly held in any position not only by the engagement of the projections I4 with the cavities 6 and l but also by the block 8 within the channel which not only supports the extension arm but acts as a fulcrum to cause the inner end of each extension arm to bear upwardly against the horizontal Wall of the channel in accordance with the load applied to the outer ends of the extension arms. As an alternative for the spring fingers l2 and the spreading spring I3 I may use any approved type of spring-pressed ball disposed within this end of said arms 9 and adapted to automatically enage with the various recesses 6 and/or 1.

Slidably overlying the top surface of each side of the hanger body and extending inwardly and downwardly therefrom is a shoulder-supporting element 15 of substantially convex formation in cross section and whose outer end terminates in an integral and downwardly extending square tubular portion is adapted to fit over and become attached to the downward projecting portion ID of the arm 9 by a friction fit. Thus, as

an arm is moved outwardly from its respective side of the hanger body the shoulder fitting element IE will move with it to cover the gap generally indicated by the letter G in Figure 4 which would otherwise exist between the rounded end I! of the arm of the hanger and the outermost end of the extension arm 9. Without these extensible Shoulder supporting portions a garment would soon develop an unsightly bulge in its shoulder portions as a result of its resting upon the rounded end portion of the arm of the body of the hanger and on the downwardly spaced outermost end of the extension arm;

While I have shown a particular form of embodiment of my invention, I am aware that many minor changes therein will readily suggest themselves to others skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A garment hanger comprising in combination a body member having a center portion and a pair of arms extending outwardly therefrom, each of said arms being of inverted U-shape in cross section throughits length to form a channel, the side walls of the channel having a plurality of opposing cavities formed therein, a pair of extension arms slidably mounted in said channels, resilient means attached to the innermost end of each extension arm and adapted for selective engagement with said cavities, a block secured within each channel at its outer end to provide a sliding support for each of said extension arms, each of said extension arms terminating at its outer end in a downwardly extending portion, an elongated and transversely curved plate slidably mounted lengthwise on each of said arms of said body member, and means formed integral with said plates for engagement with said downwardly extending portions of said extension arms.

2. A garment hanger comprising in combination a body member having a central portion and a pair of arms formed integral therewith and extending outwardly therefrom, each of said arms being of inverted u-shape in cross section throughout its length to form a channel, the side walls of the channel having a plurality of opposing cavities formed therein, a pair of extension arms slidably mounted lengthwise within said channels, the inner end of each extension arm being bifurcated to provide spring fingers, a compression spring disposed between said spring fingers, rounded projections formed on said spring fingers on the outer sides thereof and adapted for selective engagement with said cavities, a block secured within said channel at the outermost ends thereof to provide sliding supports for said extension arms and to function as a fulcrum for said extension arms to cause their inner ends to bear against the interior of the channel in accordance with the load imposed upon the outer end of said extension arms.

NELS C. WELKER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,421,433 Poole June 3, 1947 2,446,312 Usina Aug. 3, 1948 2,591,387 Taub Apr. 1, 1952 

